We're Sensing a Pattern: GQ's Guide to This Fall's Gutsiest Look

The new move in suits and sport coats is the big, proud pattern, inspired by the natty armor of Italian magnates and British royalty. Here's how to tell your glen plaid from your gun check and put it all together like a boss—or an earl

You can be forgiven if you can't tell a checked plaid from a windowpane—nobody's really worn those fusty old patterns for years. But now, suddenly, that's changing. Yep, fall suits and jackets in ultratraditional fabrics have been resurrected. They're popping up in stores, thanks to fresh labels like Band of Outsiders and Thom Browne; they're on the backs of tricked-out young style junkies at the men's fashion shows in Milan; and they're even on celebrities we actually want to dress like, including Ryan Gosling and Mark Ronson.
So what's the difference between a jacket you might see on Prince Charles and one you'll see on André 3000? It starts with the fit. Plaid devotees of yore had suits cut like giant burlap sacks, but these new designer incarnations are cut slimmer and shorter, with higher armholes, minimal lining, and natural shoulders. That means they make you look slender—but with a gentlemanly ease.
The other key to making these trad jackets fresh is to style them up aggressively. Instead of going with a white shirt and a solid tie, attack a patterned jacket with more patterns. Here, we'll show you exactly how it's done—and make sure you never wonder what the hell glen plaid looks like ever again.